Infidels of Every Denomination

The Big Deal about Big Love

HBO's new series Big Love has gotten quite a bit of press, mostly aimed towards its portrayal of a polygamous family.  The key word being "polygamous."  Perhaps some of their promos mentioned the word "Utah."  One word you most definitely didn't see, however, was "Mormon."

Interesting, that.  Especially since, from where I'm standing, the show's about a Mormon polygamous family -- the most relevant word being "Mormon."

I wonder how the press -- and the Mormon church -- would have reacted to that?

Not Over Yet?

Brief article following up on the Darla Wynne case from Great Falls, SC-- the ACLU asked the state Attorney General to offer some guidance to local government about what is or isn't legal in a public invocation. His response?

Attorney General Henry McMaster says he will not tell local governments in South Carolina how they can pray before their meetings.

...

McMaster sided with Great Falls and says his office could be involved in further litigation on the issue. [emphases mine]

Greaaaat. Well, we'll keep watching to see how that works out for you, dude.

Rocky Mountain Low

I think Chas S. Clifton's friend had it right when she said, "Doesn't it seem that Crazy Season is starting a little early this year?"

For those readers who are unfamiliar with Paganism and Wicca, every year those of us who are practitioners look forward to the Halloween season with a mix of enthusiasm and dread. Enthusiasm, because Samhain is one of the biggest across-the-board holidays (in my experience at least) for pagan/witchy types-- I've heard casual adherents referred to as "Samhain and Beltane Pagans"-- and there tend to be an explosion of celebrations especially in urban areas, ranging from Witches' Balls and masquerades with rituals at nightclubs, to more private ordeal or healing rites, to very intimate and quiet house blessings and dumb suppers to remember the dead. Some groups incorporate elements of Mexican Day of the Dead festivals, and this year, Hinduism's Diwali falls on Nov. 1st as well. It's a deeply meaningful and intensely celebratory time for many of us.

And dread, because with the approach of Halloween comes the annual running of the bullshit-- the gag-worthy media "lifestyle" profiles and hushed-toned melodramatic television specials claiming to answer the question, "is witchcraft REAL?!" and to unmask the great spooky secrets of Halloween, in which they dig up the weirdest, most outre goth-looking Wiccan witch they can book (Laurie Cabot is a favorite) to try to explain witchcraft to the masses. (I'm pretty outre and goth looking myself much of the time-- my objection is purely to the stupid sensationalism of it, like the media is some kind of Jane Goodall trying to communicate with the primitive punk-pagans.) And then you have the churches and "family" groups bitching about local Samhain festivals, some more bizarrely than others. And don't even get me started on the annual debate over whether the stereotypical green, warty, pointy-hatted witch/hag icon of Halloween is the Pagan equivalent of pickaninny art.

In any case, it IS pretty early for Samhain madness to descend, which is perhaps the only thing I found really surprising about this article. Apparently, in a very small town area of Colorado, a woman named Jerusha Doucette-Johnson rented the American Legion hall in the tiny town of Ramah on behalf of her group, Secret Garden Coven, to hold a Samhain festival as a fundraiser for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. And another woman, Annette Manchego, along with others including Baptist minister Rev. Tim Tucker, is trying desperately to oppose it-- collecting signatures on a petition, threatening to stage a protest, complaining to local officials. Manchego's objection?

“We have vulnerable young people that don’t need this put upon them,” she said. “The festival is a pulling to get people in. Then they can work with the devil himself, which they worship. It is powerful, believe me. They can brainwash you, and before you know it, you’re staying for the midnight ritual.”

All together now: BUT WHAT ABOUT THE **CHILDREN**?!?!

Military Pagans

Came across this article about the spiritual life of military personnel at Fort Sam Houston from the Express-News out of San Antonio. It is kind of a general overview of the wide diversity of religious services available to active duty military, from the point of view of the services at this fort. It's a lifestyle-type article, fairly positive towards the subject, nothing too controversial, which is part of why I was pleased by this bit:

Currently, commanders at Lackland AFB and Fort Hood allow Wiccan meetings. Wiccans praise the Earth rather than a supreme being. He said the Fort Sam Houston installation commander recognized the need to support Wiccan soldiers and their formal practice of worship. Maney said the post doesn't have a recognized Wiccan lay leader and never received a formal request to establish Wiccan meetings on post.

(To clarify that last sentence, that section of the article talks about the accommodations made to ensure as much as possible that all personnel have access to services that meet their needs-- in other words the commander is open to Wiccan services and therefore they have not specifically needed to request them.)

It's kind of a curious thing, that the US military has such retrogressive policies about gays and lesbians, yet at the same time they have been remarkably open-minded about religious practice. The US Army Chaplain's Handbook, which I believe is no longer actually published but is still consulted, had a section about serving the needs of Wiccan personnel as far back as 1978. While not an official document of recognition, the Handbook has been valuable in many civilian legal struggles to get Wicca recognized as a "real" religion. (There is a good overview of military policy regarding Wicca, the opposition it's received from some politicians including bad ol' Dubya, and Wiccan/pagan practice in the military in this 1999 Lady Liberty League report by Selena Fox, a wonderful lady who also contributed to the update of the Wiccan material in the Handbook in 1983.)

Despite the military's generally accommodating attitude, though, the Department of Veteran Affairs remains oddly stubborn about stonewalling requests to have the Wiccan pentagram added to their official list of optional spiritual emblems that can be placed on veterans' headstones. The list includes symbols for Humanism, Atheism, Eckankar, and some other fairly obscure religions. The Pagan Veterans Headstone Campaign has more information and continues to petition the DVA. According to ReligiousTolerance.org, who wrote to the DVA with specific questions, it is possible to get a marker without any symbol and to add your own symbol later at your own expense-- which isn't particularly fair, but at least they aren't actively preventing any representation of a particular faith-- but on the other hand, they note that the stated requirements for having an emblem approved include "a written request from the recognized head of the religious group, a list of national officers, and a membership tally". One wonders how Atheism, Hindu, or Sufism met those requirements...

Still, I have always found it encouraging that even though Wiccan or Pagan civilians still often find it difficult to gain acceptance in their communities, schools, and workplaces, the military has been on the whole pretty accepting and accommodating.

Indiana Child Custody Victory

While this shouldn't be surprising (and certainly isn't to me), it's good news nonetheless!

As some of you may recall, Thomas Jones and Tammy Bristol were taken by surprise last year when the judge overseeing their divorce included in the divorce decree an order -- supported only by his personal beliefs -- prohibiting either parent from exposing their child to "non-mainstream religious beliefs and ritual."  Because both parents are Wiccan, religion had not been an issue in the divorce.

Jones and Bristol appealed the ruling, with the help of the Indiana ACLU.   Yesterday the Indiana Court of Appeals issued a unanimous decision striking the court's requirement from the divorce degree and upholding the parents' rights to share their religion with their children.

Schadenfreude, baby, schadenfreude...

I read here that the town of Great Falls, SC, may have to pay a hefty legal bill.  You see, Darla Wynne- a local Wiccan priestess- sued them in 2001 over their insistence on using the name "Jesus Christ" in prayers before council meetings.  As usual, it appears that everyone in the (smug) majority saw no reason why that would offend anyone.  I bet they were surprised when Ms. Wynne slapped them with a lawsuit.  I bet they were even more surprised when she won.

All Hail Our Noodly Master!

I think it is a fine idea that, if "intelligent" design is going to be taught in our schools, our children should also learn about the Flying Spaghetti Monster theory of creation.

Some find that hard to believe, so it may be helpful to tell you a little more about our beliefs. We have evidence that a Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe. None of us, of course, were around to see it, but we have written accounts of it. We have several lengthy volumes explaining all details of His power. Also, you may be surprised to hear that there are over 10 million of us, and growing. We tend to be very secretive, as many people claim our beliefs are not substantiated by observable evidence. What these people don’t understand is that He built the world to make us think the earth is older than it really is. For example, a scientist may perform a carbon-dating process on an artifact. He finds that approximately 75% of the Carbon-14 has decayed by electron emission to Nitrogen-14, and infers that this artifact is approximately 10,000 years old, as the half-life of Carbon-14 appears to be 5,730 years. But what our scientist does not realize is that every time he makes a measurement, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is there changing the results with His Noodly Appendage. We have numerous texts that describe in detail how this can be possible and the reasons why He does this. He is of course invisible and can pass through normal matter with ease.

I’m sure you now realize how important it is that your students are taught this alternate theory. It is absolutely imperative that they realize that observable evidence is at the discretion of a Flying Spaghetti Monster. Furthermore, it is disrespectful to teach our beliefs without wearing His chosen outfit, which of course is full pirate regalia. I cannot stress the importance of this, and unfortunately cannot describe in detail why this must be done as I fear this letter is already becoming too long. The concise explanation is that He becomes angry if we don’t.

I...am simply in awe. I can only bow to such genius.

And in case your brain doesn't hurt enough:

(Do scroll down and read the emails...they are priceless.)

To our lord and savior I can only say: Noodlelujah! And, YARRR!! And now is the time on Infidels when we dress like pirates.

More about the California prison case

Yesterday my colleague, the Mad Hathor, talked about a religious rights case out of California. While I'm pleased at the 9th Circuit's recent decision in Warsoldier v. Woodford, I feel compelled to correct some misleading statements in the cited article, lest people think this case has greater significance than it does.

The 9th Circuit decision did not, in fact, say that the prison had violated Warsoldier's rights by having a rule mandating that male prisoners' hair be no longer than three inches long. Instead, it said that Warsoldier had demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success when the court (or jury) ultimately decided the issue.

Eh?

Warsoldier asked the District Court for a temporary injunction to prevent the prison from enforcing its rule as against him until the court had the opportunity to decide the case on its merits. (Important note: the prison never threatened to cut Warsoldier's hair without his consent; rather, it was imposing other punishments on him for his unwillingness to follow the prison's rules.)

To get such an injunction Warsoldier had to prove, among other things, that he was likely to succeed on the merits of his claim -- i.e., that the court would ultimately decide that the prison's rule violated his right to religious freedom under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 ("RLUIPA"). The District Court held that, for various reasons, Warsoldier had not proved his entitlement to a temporary injunction. The 9th Circuit however, in part relying on Cutter v. Wilkinson, disagreed and issued the injunction.

This does not mean that the court held that the rule was invalid. It does not mean that the California prison system violated Warsoldier's rights. It only means that at this time, this three-judge panel of the court thinks that -- based upon the evidence put before it right now -- Warsoldier would likely succeed on his claim. The state could come up with additional evidence and ultimately prevail -- this decision isn't binding on a court's future finding. So yes, it's fine to open a bottle of champagne, but save the really good stuff for later.

The article also mentioned a prior case, from last year, in which the 9th Circuit held differently. Yes, that's absolutely true, because the plaintiff in that case relied upon a different legal theory, one that's far more lenient towards the state's policies ("legitimate penological interest" vs. "compelling interest" and "least restrictive means" of achieving goal, for those of you up on these things).  It has no bearing on this case (or other cases brought under the RLUIPA) whatsoever.

You've just got to love bad legal reporting.

Put Down the Shears, Warden

A US appeals court just ruled that male inmates in CA do not have to cut their hair short. The challenge was brought by a Native American inmate who had not cut his hair in 25 years and was being punished for refusing to comply with a prison rule that says that male inmates' hair may be no more than 3" long. The inmate in question kept his hair long in accordance with his traditional religious practices.

It may seem like kind of a minor thing, but I'm pleased to see this ruling. First of all, practitioners of religious traditions that require adherents to wear their hair in a particular way tend to invest a lot of their spiritual identity in their appearance. To force someone to change that is pretty much the same as spitting on their religious beliefs. Second of all, having one's hair shorn against one's will is a dehumanizing, degrading thing.

But third of all, it was a bit of gender discrimination (female inmates were subject to no such length rules, which were implemented in the men's prisons for reasons of "sanitation" and "security", however they figure that) that gets into the prejudice of long hair as a "feminine" thing and therefore inferior. There's still an awful lot of pressure in society for guys to keep their hair short and it's all about some bizarre notion of being properly manly. It's the same reason that male versions of skirts or dresses or makeup have never caught on in the mainstream-- because it would be somehow sexualizing the guys in a way that's encouraged for women but therefore demeaning to men.

Personally, I love a guy who looks good in long hair. Hooray to the court for having the common sense and humanity both to respect religious expression for a minority religion, and also not buying into stupid gender stereotypes at the same time!

How I Became an Infidel

This could also be titled "Jack Chick Made Me a Pagan!"  Well, no, not exactly. But therein lies the tale…

I found a copy of this poisonous thing the other day, and it sparked some memories.  Not good ones, either. Like so many pagans, I'm an ex-Catholic.  Well, according to the Church I'm a "lapsed" Catholic, because they think that baptism has put an indelible watermark on my soul or something.  That reminds me- I have to officially return my confirmation name to the Vatican.  I don't need it any more.  But I digress…  

Puberty was rough on me- bad enough that I was already struggling with my faith, then we add hormones to the mix.  I was troubled enough that church didn't seem to mean the same thing to me that it did to other people, that it was boring and empty, that my mind wandered and it was generally a trial to sit through Mass.  I was sure it was something wrong with me, you see.